SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN MADE «NO PROGRESS AT ALL» FRIDAY DURING INITIAL HIGH-LEVEL NEGOTIATIONS AIMED AT DEFUSING MOUNTING TENSIONS OVER TOKYO'S PLAN TO SEND SURVEY SHIPS INTO WATERS CLAIMED BY BOTH COUNTRIES, A SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIAL SAID, ACCORDING TO AP. «THERE HAS BEEN NO PROGRESS AT ALL SO FAR,» SOUTH KOREAN VICE FOREIGN MINISTER YU MYUNG-HWAN SAID AFTER A 90-MINUTE MEETING WITH JAPANESE UNDERSECRETARY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS SHOTARO YACHI, WHO MADE AN EMERGENCY TRIP TO THE SOUTH KOREAN CAPITAL. «WE TALKED ABOUT OUR POSITION. JAPAN TALKED ABOUT ITS POSITION,» YU SAID. «WE NEED TO TALK MORE. THE POSITIONS OF THE TWO SIDES ARE SO DIFFERENT ... THAT WE HAVE TO TALK FRANKLY.» YACHI DESCRIBED THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE MEETING AS «SEVERE,» ACCORDING TO JAPAN'S KYODO NEWS AGENCY.
